Trench-digging machine.



No. 677,522. Patented luly 2, |901.

J. H. w. LIBBE.

TBENCH'DIGGING MACHINE. I

(Application led Feb. 4, 1901.) (No Model.) 3 Sheets-Sheet l.

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no. 677,522. Patentedluly 2, lem. .1. H. w. LIBBE. TRENCH DIGGINGMACHINE.

(Application med nb'. 4, 1901.) (R0-Model.) 3 Sheets-Sheet 2.

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J. H. W. LIBBE.

TRENCHDIGGING MACHINE.

(Application led Feb. 4, 1901.)

No. 677,522. Patented muy 2, lem.

3 Sheets-Sheet 3.

(No Model.)

UNrrnn STATES JOIIN IfI. IV. LIEBE,

@PATENT OFFICE.

OF TOLEDO, OI'IIO.

TRENoH-DIGGING MACHINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 677,522, dated July 2, 1901.

Application filed February 4, 1901. Serial No. 45,926. (No model.)

the direction of its forward movement comA` pleted to its full depth and width readyfor the laying of the pipe or brickwork; furthermore, to provide a machine of the kind which may be closely followed up by the brick or pipe work and having ready means of conveying the earth as excavated and refilling the trench therewith as the sewer-work is extended therein.

I accomplish these objects by the mechanism hereinafter described and illustrated in the drawings, in which- A Figure 1 is a plan View ofa trench-machine constructed in accordance with my invention. Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the same. Fig. 3 is an enlarged sideV elevation showing the scoop in operative position in the bottom of the trench. Fig. 4 is afront view of sheave hanger and support for the pivoted tracksection. Fig. 5 is a side elevation of the end of the framing, showing the scoop in a dumping position. Fig. 6 is a front View of the scoop and its truck. Fig. 7 is a top plan view thereof, showing the expanding bail. Fig. 8 is a side elevation of the driving-gear. Fig. 9 is a section through the trench and showing a diagram of brick and mortarspouts, and Fig. 10 is a like view showing the manner of supporting the spouts from the drag.

In carrying out my invention I employ a frame 1,which is so mounted upon wheels as to be readily dirigible when propelled by its Own power during the operation of the machine or when drawn by horses to the point of operation. Upon this frame is mounted a boiler, engines, and hoisting-drums of a suitable design to operate the machine. To the frame 1 there are also secured trusses 2,*which are disposed vertically upon opposite sides of the frame, forming bearing 2 for an oscillating shaft 3. Near the rear end of the frame there is also located a like shaft 4, journaled in bearing 5, mounted upon the top of the frame.

` 6 designates a framed structure which is inovably coupled to the frame 1 by links 7 and is dragged along the ground upon the bed-beams 8, adapted as runners therefor when the machine is advancing.

' 9 designates a track, preferably formed of an I-beam, which is rigidly connected to the center of l[he oscillating shaft 4. This beam extends rearward from the frame 1 and is adapted to enter the trench in a declined position, and in the trench the beam is curved Vto form a deflected portion 10 at the free end of the beam, which issupported upon the shoe 11 by the extension-standard 1-2. When the trench is intended for sewer construction, the base of shoe 11 may be made to conform to the arc of the circle of the sewer-conduit, and upon being dragged through the trench the shoe will operate to smooth the ground by reason of the imposed weight of the I-beam resting thereon. 13 designates a like I-beam,

which is secured to the oscillating shaft 3 and is adapted to form a continuous track when alined with the section 9, or the I-beam 14, which is centrally and pendently supported in a rearwardlydeclined position by the framed structure 6. The beam 13 is fulcrumed to the shaft 3 to form a lever 15 to elevate the opposite end to alinement with the track 14. A reverse movement of the oscillating section 13 of the track will bring the same into alinement with the decline 9 entering the trench.

In order to lock the oscillating beam 13 to the different inclines, I have provided a spring-catch 16, adapted to limit the downward movement of the section when in alinoment with the decline 9 and to automatically lock it to beam 14 when it is swung vertically into connection therewith. The catch is disengaged from the beam 14 by means of a lever 17, suitably secured to the swinging section 13 within convenient reach of the operator.

vThe excavator-scoop 18 is pendently supported from the I-beams 9, 13, or 14 and is Carried by a truck, comprising rear wheels IOO near the top and front thereof, to tie-the-sides-- 19 and front wheels 20, coupled together upon opposite vsides of theweb ofthe ISbeamfbyv of the scoop together and furnish aymeans for attaching thereto the supporting-cable 27 The tie-bar further operates to provide a shoulder for engagement with' the gravityhooks'28, .which'are'disposed upon-'the outer4 sidesA of Jthe yoke `2x2-and are pivotally'mount" ed'upon the shaft 29, which carries the sheave- The upper arms 30 of the hooksf28 'are 23. of a'lengthlto reachthetopgofthe Ibeams to adapt vthe "hooks to disengagement withE the tie -t bar yw'hen "the upward projecting Y arms come incontact with2 a stop 31, secured-to the' declined beam"14,and thereby 'tripthe scoop; The scoop is provided: with aplurality of1LV- shaped teeth32, .whicht are fastenedV to the cuttingedge of the scoop, the bottomof which'A is lcurved-to'conform to the diameter of'theA sewer-'conduit' In'order to expand the scoop; atits'mouthto cut Aa clearance-space 33 of ia widt-htopermit the freeentrance of thescoop` into the trench, I have'provided an expand-v ing-bail, which comprises the lever-arms A34 and35; both of whichare'pivotallyconnected.

to th'e-inner'sides of the scoop, near the front; aszshownin'Fig. 6.

3d designates a fulcrum-bar pivot-ally 'secure-dito the'arms3t and 35a littlefin ad`l Vance ofthe scoop;A

38,jto which the cable l39 is attached.'

The operationvof-*the expanding-bail is ast` follows: Then-the scoopjisin the fiilingrpo` sition;'as'sh`own in Figs. 2 and'l3,"with the teeth entering the earth, th`eresistance en= countered causes astrainupon the working cable, which draws the long `arms of the le-` vers '34: and v-35 inward and presses `the vsides of the scoop.` outward 'to'azpointg as VWill 'be seenv bydotted lines, Fig.-7. The strainstill continuingupon the cable forcesthescoop' through the earth, flllingit as it Atravels along' After the strain'is othetbail the beam 9. the elasticity of'the metal will contract-the mouthtof'the scoop ltoitsnormal curvature,- thuscutting the trench ofv a'width 'to ,admit freely'the scoop.r

40. Adesignates ya yoke vp'endentlyjsupported from the shaft 3, and-between the'yoke-arms upontheiarbor 41 are mounted sheaves 42 and" 43,'over'which' the cables 27 and39 passl to their respective drums 44 and45,"upon which theyrare wound. The width of the yoke-is suclrthat the Ysheaves-'may travel lengthwise upon'the arbor41 the full widthof the'drums: The vdrums arev loosely mounted" upon thel The free ends ofthe arms areconnected bymeans of chains 37 to a-ring shaft 46, and motion is transmittedfrom the shaft 'Y to the drums by 1 means of frictionclutches 47 and 48, which are also mounted upon the shaft. Both of the clutches are adapted to separate movement upon the shaft and are operated by hand-levers 49 and 50. The motion of both drums when running by gravity may be simultaneously controlled by ;n1eans of friction band-brakes 51 and 52, op-

erated bya foot-lever 53. The cable 54,which is attached to the lever-arm 15 of the oscil- Jatingswitching-beam 13, is wound upon the drum 55, which is loosely mounted upon the 'intermediate shaft 56, and 57 designates a friction-clutch operated by hand-lever 58 to transmit motion from the shaft to the drum '55. Upon the same shaft there is alsolooselyV mounted arsprocketnvheeh); with a'clutchV 60 mounted-in-juXtaposition-theretoto trans-1v mit moti'on'from the shaftto'A the sprocket#A wheel.

means of a'hand-,lever 6l. From the-sprocket-y ywheel motion is transmitted to asprocket'-l wheel r62 b'y-means of 'a--sprocket=chain-63i The clutchl GOis` shifted in--or out' of engagement-withV the sprocket-ewheel-ThyU The wheel 62 is mounted upon a-shaftg6;t,=`

which isattached by itsbearings 65' toth'eA frame 1, and'upon both ends of thefsh'aft'are- .mounted pinionsf66,of'va-widthto-engage'the" lspur-.face 67, formedfcentrally upon the-face of the rear 'driver 68; bymeanspof :which'th'e *machine is'propelledf Themachi-neis'guidl i ed'bythe-tongued), which-is-held inA the#A proper-coursebymeans yof stakes 7 Opdriv-en'- Aintothe ground at intervals ahead'of` lthema@-AY chine; The backwardmovement ofthe 'ma-4 chine is prevented byrmeans ofblocks"71, which are suitably supportedfrom thfeframe Vbehind `the drivers and 'dragged 'alongwith the machine in its forward movement; frameofthe machine may be supportedtupon IOO IOS

frire-- ,flanged "wheels, if "desired, and `runrupnpna track, as environment may'requireyandwhichf `may be usedwithout departing fronrthe spirit of the invention: i

The'machine beingfset vat thefront end 'of' aatrench=section previously lprepared foff the desired wid thand dept-l1 inthe position shown' inrlfig:V 2,'the' opera-tion' is asf follows: The scoopjis allowedto gravitate^down-the=1de=A clin-ed beam' 9 into the trench until it'arrives-H uponthe deflected end-sectionlO ofthe beam; Cables -27 and39 are slacked;whichpermits the-mouth of `'the scoop-to fall toward thebot=., torn l*of the trench;- to bring the -scoopginto po` sition Vto enter into the'earthto adepthfadajustable bythe `standard 12. 47'and- 481arenowthrowninto `vengagement with their respectivedrums;4 The strain The clutches uponcable-BQ will operate-to-enlargethe" mout-h' ofthe' scoop by-means-of the pressure ofthe-le'versiofA the bail',y whereby the-scoop byl traveling up on'the beamY will' excavate trenclrtoagreater widthlthanthe scoop; and th'ereby'provideclearance -for thescoopto freely enter-the-trenchwhen empty; .AfterW the scoop is'fllled cable 39 is slacked andthecontinuous strain of the cable 27 will lift the mouth of the scoop until the tie-bar engages with the gravity-hooks. This being accomplished, the scoop is hoisted' upon the oscillating switching-beam 13 and is held upon thebeambystopping movement of the drums by means of the friction-brakes. The clutch 57 is now brought into engagement with the drum 55, which results in lifting the loaded switch-beam to connection with declined beam 14. by winding the cable 54 upon the drum 55. As soon as the spring-catch locks the switching-beam to the declined beam 14, the brakes are released and the scoop gravitates rearward until the trip near the end of the beam 1t releases the hooks from the tiebar and dumps the scoop. After this operation is accomplished the scoop is drawn back upon the switching-beam and held thereon by reason of the brakes stopping movement of the drums 47 and 48. The spring-catch is Withdrawn to drop the switch-beam to connection with the beam 9, after which the brakes are released to gravitate the scoop into the trench and repeat the operation. Aswill be seen in the drawings, the angle of the declination of the switching-beam when elevated and connected to the delivery-track 14 is more acute than the latter and is adapted to overcome the inertia of the loaded scoop upon the switching-beam and give it momentum to gravitate toward the end of the declined track 14. or other obstruction in the path of the scoop may be readily removed, as no mechanism obstructs the trench other than the I-beam 9, which allows full access for the removal of the obstruction without backing the machine.

The machine is advanced and steered, as hereinbefore described, and, as will be seen in Fig. 2, the framed structure G may be made of a length that the earth excavated may be delivered at a point behind the advance of the completed sewer to refill the trench. The

shoringB in the trench is also readily arranged and removed, and by reason of the construction of my mechanism the shoringbeams may be located close to the declined beam 9 and prevent caving of the banks at the point of operation without interfering therewith.

72 designates cross-beams which are secured to the top of the bed-beams 8 and are adapted to support a conduit 73 for the brick and a conduit 74 for the mortar, both being arranged to deliver the material side by side in the trench within convenient reach of the masons. One or more sets of conduits may be carried in like manner, if required, and as the machine advances the obstructing shoring-timbers may be removed out of the path of the conduits and replaced in the rear thereof.

In extending a trench for water-pipe the excavated earth must be discharged upon the side of the trench and remain there until the pipe-conduit is tested and inspected.' For It will also be apparent that the rocks such trenches the traveling structure 6 is disconnected from the machine and the switching-beam 13 is suitably locked to the trench declined beam 9 to form a continuous declined track, upon which the scoop-truck may travel up and down and which travel is controlled in the above-described manner by the cables 27 and 39.

75 designates a trip detachably secured to the switching-beam 13 and is placed in a position to dump the scoop by disengaging the hooks from the tie-bar. The trip is curved to contact with the hooks under their pivotal connection to the pin. The scoop dumps its contents into a trough 76, suitably supported from the frame 1 and adapted to deliver the contents of the scoop to one side of the trench, as shown in Figs. l, 2, and 3. The trough may be so secured to the frame 1 as to be readily removable when the machine is to be used for iilling the trench after the progressing sewer-work.

The length of the track-beam 9 is propor-V tioned to the required depth of the trenchand the size of the scoop to its required width.

By conforming the bottom of the scoop to the bottom of the sewer the trench will only have to be rounded out by. handwork at the points 77, as shown in Figs. 9 and 10.

It is apparent that by setting the wheels of the frame 1 to move laterally the machine may be moved along a sloped bank to widen a trench by moving the machine the width of the scoop after each cut.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim isl. In a trench-digging machine, the combination with a frame mounted on wheels and provided with means of self-propulsion, of a declined track-beam supported by the frame, and having its lower end deflected by a curve and adapted to trail horizontally in a trench; a shoe adapted to support the lower end of the track-beam; a tripping scoop pendently mounted and adapted to travel on the trackbeam, and having an expansible mouth provided with a cutting edge; a bail for thescoop, adapted to expand the mouth of the scoop under the strain of a pull on the bail sufficient to overcome the cutting resistance of the scoop; hoisting mechanism mounted on the frame and connected to the4 bail, adapted to pull the scoop up the track-beam, and means to trip 'and dump the scoop.

2. In a trench-digging machine, a frame mounted on wheels, a trailing track-beam, pivotally supported by the rear end of the frame and declined in a trench, and having a curved lower end portion, a tripping scoop mounted on the trailing track-beam, hoisting IOO I'Io

mechanism mounted upon the frame, cables attached to the scoop and connected with the hoisting mechanism, a shoe adapted to support the curved lower end of the track-beam and adj ust the depth of the cut of the scoop,

a trailing structure linked to the rear of the frame, pendently supporting a rearwardlyv declined .dumping track-beam, vertically-projecting trusses secured to the frame, a switching track-beam fulcrumed on the trusses and adapted to switch the scoop from the trench track-beam to the dumping track-beam, and vice Versa, means to oscillate the switchingi beam and connect it with and disconnect it from either the trench or dumping track, and y means secured to the rear end of the dumping track-beam to trip the scoop, and dump the 'contents into the trench.

3. In a .trench-digging machine, a frame mounted on Wheels, hoisting mechanism"l mounted upon the frame, a track-beam supported by the frame and declined to enter a trench and formed with a curved end portion, a tripping scoop pivotally pendent from a carrier mounted on the track-beam, cables connected to the hoisting mechanism and secured to the scoop by an expanding bail, comprising levers pivotally secured to the mouth of the scoop and fulcrumed to a spreading-bar lo expand the mouth of the scoop under the vthe yoke-axle, adapted to engage the tie-bar to support the scoop, a bail comprising leverarms pivotally secured to the sides of the scoop, a spreader adapted to fulcrum the lever-arms, links connected to the free ends of the arms and to a cable, adapted to contract the free arms of the levers and expand the mouth of the scoop, and a cable rove over the yoke-sheave, secured to the tie-bar at one end and to the hoisting mechanism at the other, adapted to hoist the mouth of the scoop to engagement with the trip-hooks.

5. In a trench-digging machine, a selfrpropelled vehicle provided with hoisting mechanism, a declined track extending into a trench and supported from the rear of the Vehicle, an overhead-supported track trailed by the vehicle, a tripping scoop adapted to travel along the tracks in a pendent position,

cable connections from the scoop to thejhoisting mechanism, an oscillating track fulcrumed above the vehicle, adapted to switch the scoop from one track to the other, and means to oscillate the switching-track.

6. The combination, in a trench-digging machine, of an elastic metal scoop, U -shaped in cross-section, and provided with a cutting edge at its mouth, with a bail, pivoted to the upturned sides of the scoop and adapted to spread the mouth of the scoop and increase the width of its cut, when the scoop isdrawn through earth by the bail.

In witness whereof I have hereunto subscribed my hand this 2d day of February, A. D. 1901. Y

JOHN H. WV. LIEBE.

XVitnesses:

Ylevure E. MAcoMBE-R, HERMAN H. MARTIN. 

